Meta

Sumit SinghalSumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.

Plaza España in Tenerife, Spain by Fernando Menis Architects

Architecture is a means to bring people to the natural environment. The Museum features a large plaza that characterizes the building. The development of this area was vital to connecting the building to the environment.

It arose from the idea to strengthen the relationship between the town and the natural landscape that exists around the museum. The plaza gives a public space to the town, it is a place where people can eat and enjoy the landscape which is particularly striking for the site lies next to a dry river bed known in as the “Bar- ranco del Infierno”.

Deep cuts are carved into the ground from the deluges of rain that occur between dry seasons, the barranco remains dry for a majority of the year- a place of dramatic earth formations and rocks shaped by the yearly waters.

The concept of the plaza was to act as a nuclei of public and cultural life: a place like a great gazebo within a spectacular landscape that rises above the ravines. It is a plaza that can be used as meeting point and for civic activity. It is a place to rest or play. It is its dynamic character and flexibility that creates the environment for the museum.

Plaza of Spain in Adeje

The top of the building frames the plaza, where the cafe is located. This volume is made of white concrete which overlooks the plaza like a church overlooking a city. The building uses light colors and contained geometry. The location and design frame the existing layout, while respecting its historic configuration.

View from the Plaza to the mountains

The Sacred Museum exists as telluric architecture, its volume hidden within the depths of the earth. Cracks within its volume create lighting that penetrates into its depths. The galleries act as a journey moving though the earth and feeling its coolness. It exists like a cave, a sacred place of quiet reflection, closed to the outside world. It is designed to evoke a spiritual resonance with the visitors, transforming a museum into a physical and emotional journey. It is a space to find oneself, or lose oneself in reflection.